I help set a world record

Sorry for the lack of communication and wrapping up the big vacation. You know how it is, it's over before you know it and it takes a few days after to recover.

As I said earlier, this vacation was for Private Pete. I had to salvage what fun I could out of this tour. So, since it was only 90 minutes out of the way, we headed to Alexandria, IN, the home of the World's Largest Ball of Paint.


First stop on the way home




Yes it truly is the world's largest (according to Guinness) and I painted coat number 39,079 on it. Michael Carmichael started the ball 27 years ago when he and a friend accidentally dropped a baseball into a can of paint. From there he started adding coats of paint until today, 39,079 layers later it weighs nearly 1,300 pounds.

I first saw this on CBS Sunday Morning a few years back and just a few weeks before the trip the story was replayed, like kismet it was my calling to paint a piece of history.


Paint ball creator Michael Carmichael

And what was it like to make history, you ask? Like so many things the journey was long but the actual work only took about 15 minutes. I used Infantry Blue (not Yankee blue), splattered a little on myself for luck and Viola I was done.


I can now say, regarding the Worlds' Largest Ball of Paint, Been there, Done that, Bought the T Shirt!

We finish the trip Friday and return to Corps business next week.